Shattered by Rita A. Schulte

Do you bottle up your hurt and grief? Have you refused to talk about it? “Yet we must tell the story to walk the healing path,” Rita writes. (16) She has written this book to help you do that very thing.

Jesus said that a seed must die to bring new life. Rita says God works that way in our lives too. “Brokenness is not only a necessary process in the life of the believer – it is a gift.” (19) As she experienced loss she first protested, but then began to trust God. She began to see pain and loss in a new light, part of the process of shaping and molding character. She began to see a greater purpose – the journey.

Rita has focused her book on the heart and the phases it must go through in this journey. She helps us develop an awareness of the heart, learning to notice it. She helps us crack the shell we placed around it, exploring our brokenness and exposing our wounds. Then our heart can be revived by Christ's healing power.

She has divided her book into three parts. 1) Identify losses, their effect on our heart, our defenses, our concept of God. 2) We are helped through the healing tasks and we deal with anger, forgiveness and surrender. 3) We rekindle our desires, investing them in God's greater story.

This is a book to experience. Rita takes us through exercises as we work through all those phases I listed. I was really impressed with her section on anger and forgiveness. And her “Taking It to the Cross” chapter was so convicting.

Rita does not write from a theoretical place. As she shares her experiences, she writes about the lessons she has learned herself.

This is a great book for you if you know you have loss or pain that is preventing you from living the life God intended. Working through the exercises Rita gives will definitely help you heal. She encouraged me, reminding me that God is right in it with me. “...God is not about wasting the stories of our lives – our losses.” (11) “Our pain is given meaning because we don't experience it in isolation; we share it in relationship with Christ.” (54)

Rita A. Schulte is a licensed professional counselor in the Northern Virginia/DC area. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Master's in Counseling from Liberty University. She is the host of Heartline Podcast and Consider This radio programs. Her show airs on several radio stations, as well as on the Internet. She writes for numerous publications and blogs. Find our more at http://ritaschulte.com/.

Leafwood Publishers, 236 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.